


Invisible Wounds

by Daughter_of_Scotland



Series: Rain's [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Gets Hurt, Dom!Barry, Hurt/Comfort, Lichtenberg Figures, M/M, Mardon is an ass, Praise Kink, Sub!Len, discussion of pain, mentions of dom/sub relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 17:49:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5384777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_Scotland/pseuds/Daughter_of_Scotland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry might have accelerated healing, that doesn't mean he's immune to pain.<br/>After getting attacked by Mark Mardon, Len takes Barry to the only place they both feel safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Invisible Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo... I wanted to write more in this series, but I also loved the discussion we had on tumblr (Link see end notes) about how Barry still feels pain, after he said he can still feel Ollie's arrows when it rains on the latest Crossover episode.  
> Also, Lichtenberg figures which were brought up by me and Phynali and probably others (see end notes).
> 
> Thanks as always to my darling Jess for beta reading :)

Some days were worse than others.  
  
Most days, he was fine, as long as he ignored the first few minutes after waking up.  
Others, he felt it all.  
  
Dual pricks of pain, like arrows embedded in his back.  
A throbbing hand, like hitting a man of steel.  
A burning in his lungs, like poison and smoke all together.  
Pain all over, like being buried under rubble.  
  
Nothing to see, no scars to show, he healed, no one was worried.  
The pain remained.  
  
The worst pain, and the one he feared the most, however, was lightning.  
  
Lightning set his body ablaze, made every former pain seem like a love tap, reminded his body of everything it had been through.  
  
He hated Mark Mardon for making him remember.  
  
***

 

Barry wasn’t even on patrol. He was simply getting groceries, while Joe was doing a late shift at the precinct.

 

Barry exited the store, juggling two heavy bags of food, when the lightning hit his back. His whole body seized, his breath getting punched out of him, he couldn’t even scream. The bags fell from his hands, and he crumbled to the ground, shaking.

 

Then it stopped and a heavy boot kicked him onto his back. He squinted against the light but saw just what he expected: Mark Mardon, grinning madly down at him.

 

“Joe West’s son,” the man sneered. “What a treat.”

 

Barry opened his mouth - he wasn’t even sure why, to scream? To yell for help? To beg for mercy? - but the next lightning bolt struck him right into the chest.

 

Barry felt his heart stop, and then start again in a matter of nanoseconds.

 

 _I’m going to die_ , flashed through his head. _I’m going to die by lightning._

 

“Stop it, Mardon!”

 

It took Barry a moment to place the voice, so cold, so furious.

 

“What’s your problem, Snart?” Mardon asked but stopped the lightning. Barry felt himself twitch, and everything was pain.

 

“We don’t kill anyone,” Captain Cold said, coming closer. “Especially not in the middle of the day and in a parking lot, are you insane?”

 

“He’s Joe West’s son,” Mardon protested. “The man deserves -”

 

“I don’t care,” Cold interrupted him. “You will stop this senseless revenge plot and leave the kid alone, or I’ll ice you myself. Now beat it!”

 

Barry heard Mardon grumbling, but then his boots vanished from his line of vision.

 

“Come on,” came the much more familiar voice of Len from his side. “Barry. You need to get up.”

 

Barry tried, he really did. But even moving his eyes hurt and he twitched again, opening his mouth to take a breath - the air was filled with static, he could feel the electricity on his tongue, he could taste it - Barry blacked out.

 

***

 

When Barry came to, he was lying on a fluffy bed, surrounded by familiar scents.

For a moment, his mind was blissfully blank and he snuggled back into the blanket over him - or tried to, but the movement just sent new pain through his body. And the memories were back.

 

“Oh, god,” he groaned, holding still.

 

“You’re awake!”

 

Barry opened his eyes carefully. The room was dark except for the red-shaded lamp on the nightstand, bliss to his eyes. He looked up at Len, upside down, as Barry’s head was in Len’s lap. Len, who sat against the headboard of ‘their’ bed at _Rain’s_ with Barry laying on it.

 

“Why are we here?” Barry asked, licking his cracked lips.

 

Len moved carefully and held a bottle of water to Barry’s lips, including a straw. Barry sipped gratefully.

 

“I didn’t know where else to take you,” Len answered and Barry heard the distress in his voice. “You were out cold and I couldn’t just take you to STAR Labs or the hospital - the first one might have gotten me arrested, the second might have exposed you as the Flash.”

 

That made sense. But - “So you took me to _Rain’s_? It shouldn’t even be open yet.”

 

“It’s not,” Len said in a tight voice. Barry felt the fingers carding through his hair falter. He hadn’t even noticed them before. “I broke us in, got the key from the bar.”

 

Barry sighed. Elaine wouldn’t be happy about that, especially not because he couldn’t actually explain the situation to her. “Well, you did well with what you had at hand,” he allowed. “Good job.”

 

Len let out a shaky breath and relaxed noticeably. “Thank you.”

 

Barry’s body was still full of pain but his mind was getting sharper and he realized that they were automatically falling into their usual behaviour. He wasn’t sure that was the right thing at the moment, as he couldn’t act as a dom with his body still not cooperating.

 

“So,” he asked to distract them both. “Mardon’s one of your Rogues now?”

 

Len’s face darkened. “No, not completely,” he said, his hand flexing in Barry’s hair. “After… Well. After. He and I met up a few times, we talked. He actually asked to meet me today and wanted my opinion on a job. But when he saw you he snapped. I know why, I mean, he doesn’t know you’re the Flash, but his hatred of West really gets in the way of his rational thinking.”

 

Barry hummed. Len’s fingers in his hair were about the only part of his body that didn’t hurt.

 

“I won’t recruit him,” Len continue. “Not as long as he holds onto his grudge and plans for revenge. I won’t let my Rogues go around hurting people, especially innocents.”

 

Barry laughed weakly. “Are you calling me an innocent, Len?”

 

“In Mardon’s stupid revenge plot you are,” Len answered, smirking a bit. “Considering the way you get in the way of my business, however…”

 

Barry laughed again. “Your business? You mean stealing art to hang it on your wall and jerk off to it in your quiet time?”

 

“I don’t jerk off to Picasso, you heathen,” Len protested affronted. “I have way better taste than that. Remember those emeralds I stole a few months ago? _Those_ are jerking off material.”

 

Barry couldn’t help the next laugh being louder, shaking his body, and ending in a groan. “Oh god, stop,” he gasped. “Hurts too much.”

 

Len immediately frowned. “I don’t… You heal so fast. What’s going on? Is something up with your powers?”

 

Barry sighed and settled back, his head still in Len’s lap. It was actually very comfortable.

 

“No, my powers are fine,” he said. “But… Accelerated healing doesn’t mean no pain receptors. I feel everything, just give it a bit and you can’t see anything. Well. Almost.”

He shifted a bit. “Take off my shirt? Or, maybe just rip it.”

 

“Why, Mr. Allen, one might think you’re trying to seduce me,” Len said, smirking, making Barry chuckle again. He liked this side of Len. Not Captain Cold, but also more carefree than he was as a sub.

 

Len moved slowly but eventually got the shirt off of Barry. He gasped when he saw Barry’s chest decorated in fine scars.

 

Len reached out with trembling fingers and traced the lines from Barry’s neck to his stomach. “What are these?”

 

“Lichtenberg figures,” Barry said, shuddering under Len’s touch, but not from pain this time. “Lightning scars. They’ll be on my back, too. They’ll be gone by the morning, but for now, they’re very visible.”

 

He looked down at himself. He recognized the beauty of the pattern, but he hated those scars. He had seen pictures of himself in the coma, where the scars stayed for longer, until his healing kicked in. He’d seen them again after every time Mardon had hit him with lightning, though the suit protected him better - this time, the scars were more pronounced and clear.

 

Len was silent, still tracing the lines. Barry felt himself hardening in his jeans. Even through the pain, his body was more sensitive than usual, making Len’s touches even more noticeable.

 

“So even the wounds close or fade soon, the pain always stays?”

 

Barry looked up at Len again. His eyes were far away and Barry figured the question wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

 

“Yes,” he said carefully. “And it comes back, too. Some mornings I feel like I’m ancient. Other days it just hits me randomly. The pain is a constant of varying degrees, but I’m pretty good at ignoring it even on the bad days.”

 

Len let his hand rest on the side of Barry’s stomach - where he’d hit him with the cold gun for the first time. “And me? How often do you feel me?”

 

Barry lifted a hand, ignoring the pain the movement sent through him, and cupped Len’s cheek upside-down. “You’re in my head, Len,” he said quietly. “It drives the pain away, not strengthens it, when I think about you.”

 

Len blinked down at him. “Are you… Saying this as my dom?”

 

“No,” Barry said slowly, but surely. “I’m saying this because it’s true.”

 

Len blinked again and then bent down, kissing Barry lightly on the lips. The kiss stayed sweet and chaste, but it made Barry’s body tingle in a completely different way than the lightning.

 

“You’re a wonder, Barry Allen,” Len muttered against his lips. “I wonder how I deserve you. And when I’ll mess this up.”

 

Barry stroked Len’s cheek. “You won’t,” he said, sure of it. “You and me, Len. We work well together. And you don’t _deserve_ me. I’m not something to earn. I give myself away freely, on my own accord. I’m here, with you, because I want to be. Because I think we’re good for each other. And I don’t just mean as dom and sub. I think we’ve moved past that tonight, don’t you?”

 

Len looked almost scared now. “And what are we then?”

 

“Friends?” Barry suggested. “You saved my life, even though you were Captain Cold out there. I don’t know how much of him is a mask you put on because you think you need it and how much is the real you. But you saved me. And you brought me here and tonight _you_ took care of _me._ You made me feel better. You kept me safe. This was not about being dom and sub. This was about what we needed. And you gave me all I did need today.”

 

Barry saw the tears in Len’s eyes before they fell on his face.

 

“Hey,” he whispered, “it’s okay. I got you. I’m here, I’m alive, I’m whole. Come here.”

 

He made Len lie down and snuggle into him, just like their usual post-session cuddles. Now it was Barry running his fingers over Len’s head on his chest.

 

“You did well today,” Barry said, hoping this was helping. “You took care of me, you made me feel better, the pain will be gone soon. And then we can go back to our usual way, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

 

Len shuddered and let out a shaky breath. “I… I think I’d like that,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, I just… I’m not ready for… This getting out of this room. Or being anything else than… Than what we did before.”

 

Barry smiled wistfully. “I understand,” he said. “My darling boy… Don’t worry. I’m not going to take this away from you.”

 

Len shook in his arms, suddenly sobbing. Barry almost panicked, wondering what he’d done, before he heard the muttered ‘thank you’s the other man cried into his chest.

His heart cracked, not yet breaking, but getting closer the more he learned about Len’s past as a sub.

 

“One day,” he murmured, “I’ll ask. And I hope that day you’ll tell me. But for now, sweetheart, go to sleep. You made me very happy today.”

 

He kept running his hands over Len’s head, shoulders, and back while the man cried and finally fell asleep.

  
The pain in Barry’s body went away eventually. The ache in his heart, however, stayed, as he held onto the broken man in his arms he wanted so badly to heal.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love <3
> 
> http://pheuthe.tumblr.com/post/134519869497/daughterofscotland-wacheypena (Link to the discussion, can't add a real one right now for some reason)  
> http://coldtomyflash.tumblr.com/tagged/scars (Post by Phynali about the Lichtenberg figures).


End file.
